An accountability court in Islamabad has rejected former president Asif Zardari’s pleas for dismissal of supplementary references filed in Park Lane, Mega Money Laundering and Thatta Water Supply cases.
Judge Azam Khan of the Islamabad Accountability Court announced the verdict yesterday which was earlier reserved on the petitions filed by the PPP co-chairman.
The court ruled that the PPP leader cannot be acquitted in references pertaining to fake bank accounts.
Zardari’s counsel, Farooq H Naek, had submitted the petitions stating that under the law the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) cannot file supplementary references and pleaded with the court to dismiss them.
While rejecting the pleas, the court ruled that the trial should continue and summoned all the accused on September 28.
The former president had challenged the filing of supplementary reference in the Park Lane case earlier this month when the court summoned him for indictment.
The prosecutor for the anti-graft watchdog, Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi, had objected to the fresh application before indictment in the case, stating they were asking for time to prepare their own petition.
“I am ready to present arguments on it, why aren’t they? We have not filed any supplementary reference in the money laundering case,” Abbasi said.
“The case was transferred from Karachi so Zardari had filed a reference after his interrogation,” he maintained.
Separately, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) extended Zardari’s bail till October 15.
Asif Zardari
